Senate Bill 923 by Senator Kevin de León could be brought up on the State Assembly Floor later this week. This bill would direct the DWC Administrative Director to adopt the RBRVS fee schedule for all treatment services and medical-legal diagnostic studies at a revenue-neutral rate of 115% of California Medicare. This would represent a $500 million a year cost shift of revenues from medical specialists to primary care physicians.

We need your help to defeat this terrible legislation!

PLEASE SEND A FAX TODAY to your State Assembly Member in Sacramento, urging him/her to vote “no” on SB 923. You can find your Assembly Member by following this link. Then go to the Find My District link on the left-hand side and enter your address.

Also send FAXes to the Assembly leadership:

Speaker John Pérez (916) 319-2146 FAX

Republican Leader Hon. Connie Conway (916) 319-2134 FAX

Majority Floor Leader Hon. Charles Calderon (916) 319-2158 FAX

Assistant Republican Floor Leader Hon. Curt Hagman (916) 319-2160 FAX

Following are some points to include in your FAXes as to why Senate Bill 923 (de León) is bad for injured workers:

Cutting payments to medical specialists by 20% to 48% will discourage them from treating and evaluating injured workers, thereby denying workers the medical benefits to which they are entitled under California law.

Low income and high risk occupations such as farm workers, construction workers, restaurant workers, freight handlers, teachers, and maintenance workers typically sustain more serious injuries that require medical care from specialists, not general practitioners.

If workers are denied access to care from medical specialists such as orthopedic surgeons, internists, neurologists, rehabilitation physicians, anesthesiologists, radiologists, etc., and forced to obtain their treatment from general practitioners, it will delay their healing and return to productive, income-producing work.

If injured workers cannot obtain diagnostic tests and measurements such as EMGs, MRIs, and echocardiograms, they may not be able to prove the full extent of their impairment, thereby short-changing their permanent disability benefits. Employers will also suffer due to an inability to prove apportionment.

Injured workers deserve an increase in their permanent disability benefits that were cut in 2004, but they shouldn’t be forced to give up their medical benefits in return. Realistically, any potential increase in permanent disability benefits could never offset the loss of the medical benefits if SB 923 becomes law.